Believing: Key to finding

REFLECTIONS OF FAITH:

But if you think you've got holiday heartaches, consider how Joseph must have felt when his world caved in the year of the first Christmas.

Only one verse in the Bible is taken to tell about Joseph's discovery that his bride-to-be was carrying a child, but his emotional trauma over this news must have been devastating. His engagement to lovely Mary had undoubtedly started him building dreams about their life together. Though a poor man, Joseph was a carpenter and would have been able to provide Mary many beautiful things made with his own hands. Then the unthinkable happened and everything came crashing down around him.

According to the customs and laws of Joseph's time, there was no simple solution to his dilemma, but, being a merciful man, he decided to handle the scandal discreetly, sparing Mary as much shame as possible. While his intentions were honorable, revealing his deep love for Mary, Joseph was about to learn the greatest lesson of his life: God meets us where we are, inviting us to trade our fears for faith; our heartaches for healing.

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In his account of the birth of Christ, Matthew says an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, calling him by name and telling him to put away his fears. Explaining what was happening in Mary, the angel advised Joseph to go ahead with the wedding and assured him that Mary had been true to him; that this coming birth was a miracle.

What good news this was for Joseph - far beyond his expectations. The opposite of all his fears was true. What he had thought was the end of his dreams as a husband turned out to be the answer to his needs as a man. But he must believe; he must accept the miracle of the virgin birth of Christ. And that was no small order. Many have found themselves unable to accept this key to discovering Christmas joy. Len Broughton was one of them.

Dr. Len Broughton, a medical doctor, had opened his practice in a rural area, a place were he could become acquainted with common people and serve those in need. Longing to really be a part of the community, he even attended a small country church, but found himself unable to accept the foundational message of Christmas: the virgin birth of Christ. Every time the subject was raised, his medical training and experience kept him from believing. Then one Sunday, during the Christmas season, the preacher dropped a bomb that blew away all Broughton's doubts.

The pastor chose the first verse in the Bible as his text: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," declaring it contained the only really mysterious thing in the universe. He told his congregation if they could believe God was there before the beginning they could believe everything else in the Bible.

Dr. Broughton accepted the country preacher's logic and traded his doubts for faith. From that time on, he was convinced God was big enough to do anything, even fulfill the prophet's promise that a virgin would conceive and give birth to the Savior (Isaiah 7:14).

In believing, Len Broughton discovered the inner joy he'd been seeking for so long.

We can, too.

- Roger Campbell is a Waterford minister. You may write him at PO Box 301004, Waterford, MI 48330; or e-mail him at rcministry@ameritech.net.